Oral brushing devices and/or methods

ABSTRACT

An oral hygiene device having two side-by-side toothbrushes connected or connectable to the end of a handle, the one or more toothbrushes providing a desirable fit about the teeth and/or gums and/or providing a desirable brushing action. An oral hygiene device hereof may provide for mechanically providing the brushing movements of the professionally recommended manual tooth-brushing method known as the “Bass” or “Modified Bass” technique to thus reduce or eliminate the element of human error associated with the brushing of a user&#39;s teeth and gums.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of prior U.S. applicationSer. No. 11/223,365, filed Sep. 9, 2005, which claimed the benefit ofU.S. Provisional Application No. 60/609,093, filed Sep. 9, 2004, andwhich is a continuation of prior U.S. application Ser. No. 10/357,564,filed Feb. 5, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,059,853 which claimed thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Application Nos. 60/385,366, filed Jun. 3,2002; 60/403,915 filed Aug. 15, 2002 and 60/409,760 filed Sep. 10, 2002.

The present development relates generally to oral cleansing devices andmore particularly to power driven tooth and/or gum brushing devices, andalso relates, in many implementations, to a system for using or movingone or more cleaning or brushing heads during a cleaning procedure. Thismay commonly include providing reciprocal cleaning head movement.Particularly useful herewith may be a force balance provided byalternating reciprocation, particularly in a side-by-side brush headrelationship. Additionally and/or alternatively also useful may be oneor more toothbrush or like arrangements which may assist in orientingand guiding the cleansing heads within the user's mouth to provideproper cleansing and stimulation to thereby produce healthy teeth andgums.

BACKGROUND

A large proportion of the adult population suffers from some form of gumdisease which in turn can and often does lead to tooth loss. Animportant cause of gum disease is inadequate tooth and gum brushing andgum massage. In response, a diverse array of manual and automated toothand gum cleansing devices have been developed including electrictoothbrushes, oral irrigators and automated flossers. These have beengenerally directed at the important basic need to clean the teeth, gumsand certain parts or the whole of the mouth area. Nonetheless, manydeficiencies remain with various of these devices, and for many peopleand in many situations, they are inadequate or unsuitable. Manualbrushes, for instance, require the user to have a minimum, moderatedegree of manual dexterity, particularly in attempting to achieve properbushing technique, as for example that taught by Dr. Bass (see furtherdescription hereof below). This includes a requisite ability to firmlygrasp and maneuver the brush appropriately against the dental surfaces.The tiresomeness, repetitiveness, difficulty of and/or the relativedisinterestedness of many people with manual brushing leads many to doless than is necessary, often also using inappropriate brushing methods.And thus, some tooth and gum surfaces may receive inadequate brushing ormay be missed altogether.

Furthermore, conventional electric or “power” toothbrushes, while oftenrequiring less physical effort on the part of the user, still generallyrequire human skill and dexterity, i.e., accurate human manipulation inorder to achieve effective disease preventing results. Such brushes donot typically provide for achieving the Bass techniques (see furtherdescription hereof below). And, these power brushes are often morecomplicated than manual brushes and are more expensive and require moretime in maintenance. Moreover, brushing too vigorously with electricbrushes can irritate the gums or cause them to bleed excessively,possibly injuring the gums or eventually contributing to or causing themto recede.

Thus, present means of tooth and gum brushing or cleaning may beinadequate for many or even most users. Many prior means and methods arenot readily capable of effective operation (see e.g., the Bass techniquedescribed below); hygienic, comfortable, and/or error-free use; simpleand inexpensive maintenance; with a cost-effective purchase price, formost people in most situations. Thus, there is a need for an improvedcleaning device to fill one or more of these needs.

The present disclosure is presented as a remedy for one or more of theabove-mentioned drawbacks of past devices and/or methods with theprovision of a dental care device which offers effective means of dentalcare for people of all ages, including those with natural teeth orimplants, crowns, braces and bridgework, as well as for people oflimited dexterity, or having other handicaps.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a dental cleaning appliance and/ormethod for cleaning teeth and/or gums, such an appliance typicallyhaving side-by-side cleaning heads which are insertable into the user'smouth for the cleaning operation, the cleaning head or heads beingattached to a power handle which activates movement of the cleaning heador heads which each may include one or more brushing heads and one ormore brushing arms, the one or more brushing heads being reciprocable inmany implementations, and also typically being disposed so as to includein further implementations a first side set of brushes and a second sideset of brushes, each of said first and second side sets of brushes oftenbeing reciprocable in alternating opposing dispositions relative to eachother. Such brush heads may also be used to definitively establish theposition of the brushes in the user's mouth and maintain this positionso that the bristles may effectively work on the tooth and gum surfacesand/or at the gum line (and/or elsewhere, as may be desired) as may bemost appropriate for cleaning and improving oral health. The alternatingreciprocation may provide a force balance such that the handle is staticwhile the brush heads are dynamically cleaning.

Accordingly, an aspect of the present disclosure is to provide an oralcleaning device including one or more brushes or other cleaning deviceswhich may be positioned by a cleansing head in a substantiallypre-selected position for cleaning and massaging of the user's teeth andgums. Another aspect of the present disclosure may be to provide an oralcleaning device including one or more brushes which are disposed in, onor adjacent a brush head assembly such that the bristles may beaccurately positioned by or with assistance of the brush head assemblyin a pre-selected disposition to provide for accurate brushing, cleaningand massaging of the user's teeth and gums. And yet another aspect ofthe present disclosure may be to provide a device in which one or morebrushes may be moved such that the brushes selectively move with thecleansing head to activate the tooth and gum cleansing process with amoving bristle pattern (direction and angle) meeting the needs of a userwhile substantially eliminating human error.

A further aspect may be in providing an oral hygiene device whichprovides for mechanically mimicking or simulating the brushing movementsof the most widely professionally recommended manual tooth-brushingmethod known as the “Bass” or “Modified Bass” technique, to thus reduceor eliminate an element of human error associated with brushing of auser's teeth and gums. The Bass method (as developed and taught by Dr.Charles Bass; see the text: Dr. Charles Bass and the Bass Method, OneMan's Crusade to End Tooth Decay and Gum Disease, by Dr. Wayne Lott withSteve Brawner, Xlibris Corp., copyright 2004, particularly, pps. 97-99)is relatively famous, being recognized by the American DentalAssociation (the ADA), and is taught in dental schools. The Bass method(using a manual brush) is intended to properly and thoroughly clean andcare for teeth and gums. The Bass instructions call for short back andforth brush movements. A difficulty with this is that many people findthis problematic to do well, or perhaps they do not understand theimportance or definition of “short” (often on the order of about or lessthan about 0.25 inches; the ADA teaches short as “tooth-wide”), or donot have patience, and soon convert to long sweeping strokes that theybelieve gets the job done faster (actually, sweeping long strokes cancause trenching of both teeth and gums). The present apparatuses andmethods; however, provide mechanical application of the BassToothbrushing Method. These may rather, in many implementations,substantially automatically position the bristles at about a 45 degreeangle of approach (as taught by Dr. Bass and the ADA) with applicationof an appropriate or correct amount of pressure to the bristles. Thesemay then also, in many implementations, substantially automaticallydeliver the short back and forth brushing movements that appropriatelyclean the tooth and gum areas and make trenching substantially notpossible. The devices and methods hereof may also substantiallyautomatically deliver the correct movement speed that may provide forthe bristles to move into the hard to reach crevices and spaces betweenteeth. Moreover, with the multiple brushes in many implementationshereof, these brushes “saddle” the teeth, so that it is actually theteeth that position the brush, not the user, a big factor regardinghuman error. Note, these features may be provided in addition to astatic handle force balanced by a dynamic alternate reciprocation of thebrush heads.

These and still further aspects as shall hereinafter appear are readilyfulfilled by the present apparatuses and methods in a remarkablyunexpected manner as will be readily discerned from the followingdetailed description of exemplary implementations hereof especially whenread in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like partsbear like numerals throughout the several views.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1, which includes subpart FIGS. 1A and 1B, provides isometric viewsof an oral cleaning device as described herein;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of a cut-away portion of an oral cleaningdevice as described herein;

FIG. 3, which includes subpart FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C, provides respectiveplanar views of exemplary brushes in use as part of an oral cleaningdevice or system as described herein;

FIG. 4, which includes subpart FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C, provides respectiveelevational and plan views of exemplary brushes as they may be in useaccording hereto;

FIG. 5, which includes subpart FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D and 5E, providesrespective isometric and elevational views of exemplary brushes for useas part of an oral cleaning device or system as described herein;

FIG. 6, which includes subpart FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C, provides elevationalviews of exemplary brushes as they may be in use according hereto;

FIG. 7, which includes subpart FIGS. 7A, 7B and 7C, provides respectivecut-away isometric and elevational views of exemplary oral cleaningdevices according hereto; and,

FIG. 8 provides an isometric view of an oral cleaning device/systemand/or accessories hereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure relates in various implementations to theprovision of a new and useful, substantially automated oral cleaningdevice and/or method including unique coactive assemblages of distinctsub-assemblies which will be described herein in some detail. Moreparticularly, the present disclosure is directed to a plurality ofelements which when considered as one or more ensembles, may providecomprehensive attainment and/or maintenance of oral cleanliness. In manyimplementations, achievement of the Bass and/or ADA methods of brushingmay be achieved. Of these, there are several features; among which are avariety of brush heads and brush head arrangements, as well as oralternatively including dynamic brush heads with a static handle,provided by a force balance of alternating reciprocation of the brushes.

Now in more detail, though first in a relative macroscopic view; asshown at least initially in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, an exemplary automatedtooth and/or gum cleaning device 20 hereof may generally include acontrol handle or module 21 (FIGS. 1A, 1B and 2) and one or morecleaning head arrangement(s), herein generally referred to as respectivecleaning or brush head assemblies 26 and/or 27 (FIGS. 1A, 2 and 3).These respective cleaning or brush head assemblies 26 and/or 27 areshown positioning respective brushes, e.g. brushes 26 a, 27 a (see FIG.5, et al., described below) and the brush bristles 34, 35 (again, seeFIG. 5, et al., below) thereof in operative dispositions, typically in amultiple directional fashion as described further below. The controlhandle 21 may then also include one or more control assemblies 24 (seeFIG. 2) within its structural housing 23 to provide for either securelyholding the brushes or for moving or driving a brush action to and/orthrough the brush head assemblies 26, 27 for cleaning and massaging ofthe user's teeth and gums. In use, the toothbrush assemblages 26, 27hereof may provide a totality of brushing, cleaning and massaging of theuser's teeth and gums.

A handle 21 may then also include a connection configuration 25 whichprovides for connection of the one or more brush assemblies 26, 27 tothe control handle 21. This connection may generally involve a shaft orshafts 22, two shafts being shown here, namely, shaft 22 a in therelative first side position, and shaft 22 b in the relative second sideposition (see FIGS. 1B, 2 and 3, inter alia), these shafts 22 stemmingor emerging from the housing structure 23 of the handle 21, and thenconnecting or being adapted to connect to the brush assemblies 26, 27.Further details of brush mounting to/on a handle support assembly areshown and described below in particular relation to FIG. 7 (infra). Alsoas described in further detail below, the brushes may be made to bereplaceable or interchangeable when and/or if desired and thus removablymountable on respective shaft(s) 22.

The action of the brushes or brush assemblies 26, 27 may be manuallymaneuvered or activated, or may more often and/or more generally bedriven by a control assembly or assemblies 24, as by a motor (see motor44 in FIG. 2 and below) and/or a mechanical system (see system 45, FIG.2 and described further below). And, either of these actions may bedelivered with either a relatively fixed disposition of the brush armsand/or brush heads relative to each other, or as is further describedherein for the primary implementations hereof, where as shown e.g., inFIG. 3, the brush arms and/or heads may be reciprocated in and outalternately and/or in opposition to each other (see also FIG. 4, interalia). More particularly, in the implementation of FIG. 3, theside-by-side brush assemblies 26, 27 may be disposed so that one isadapted to move inward relative to the mouth while the other is adaptedto move outwardly. This is shown in FIG. 3 wherein, starting with FIG.3A, the brush 26 moves or is moving inwardly relative to the mouth(outward from the handle 21), see direction arrow 53 a, while the brush27 moves outward relative to the mouth (inward toward the handle 21),see direction arrow 54 a. Then, in an opposite reciprocal movement asshown in FIG. 3B, the brush 26 moves outward mouth-wise, direction 53 b,while the brush 27 moves inwardly, direction 54 b. Another, moreschematic, view is shown in FIG. 3C with the respective brushes 26, 27moving or adapted to move in opposite directions 53, 54. Thus, the brushheads may then reach the teeth and gums in a desirable fashion as shownin and described relative to FIGS. 3 and 4 (see further description ofFIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C, below) to thereby brush away plaque and/or debrislodged in and/or between the teeth, and/or provide a vital massage ofthe gums, particularly adjacent the teeth. And as is further shown anddescribed hereinbelow (see FIG. 7), a motor 44 as described herein maybe activated to provide movement to a mechanical system 45 which in turnprovides movement, via the shafts 22, to the brush assemblies 26, 27(see shafts 22 a and 22 b in FIGS. 3A and 3B). As mentioned above and aswill be shown and described further below, the provision ofreciprocatable linear movement into and out of the oral cavityproficiently cleans the teeth and/or gums and also provides for reachingthe rear most teeth as well as all of those in between.

Moreover, it may be noted that the action shown and described relativeto FIG. 3 (including the sub-parts thereof) may be exemplary ofattainment or simulation of either or both the Bass and ADA methods fortooth brushing technique. The brushes are shown being reciprocatedsubstantially linearly, and may be limited in length of stroke to thetaught tooth wide, or about 0.25 inches (in some implementations on theorder of between about 0.18 and about 0.25 inches).

The brushes are in many implementations hereof, see e.g., brushes 26,27, disposed such that the brush heads, see e.g., heads 30, 31, as inFIG. 4, e.g. (and see FIG. 5), may be disposed in or have portionsthereof predisposed in a preselected angular disposition toappropriately impact the teeth and gums, the intersection thereof and/orany gaps therebetween at the desired location, height, and widththereof. As such, the heads 30, 31 may have respective head portions,namely, side portions 36 a, and crown portions 36 b. These brushes 26,27 can then contact the teeth from one or all sides of an array of teeth50, see e.g. the outside or cheek or bucal side 51 toward the otherside, e.g., the inside and/or tongue or lingual side 52 of an array ofteeth 50 and/or the crown or occlusial side 550 as shown for example inFIG. 4, particularly 4C.

The side portions 36 a and crown portions 36 b of the heads 30, 31 maythus be disposed to have bristles 34, 35 (see below) disposed in anangular disposition, see angle θ in FIG. 4A which may thereby provide adesirable cleaning action on the respective side surfaces of the teethwith which the tips of the bristles 34, 35 may more effectively comeinto contact. As shown in FIG. 4A, the bristles 34, 35 are shown angleddownward to provide a potentially desirable impact of the bristles 34,35 with the gum line intersection of respective gums 58, 59 with a tooth56. This may include an angle θ at approximately a 45 degree angle (plusor minus) for the side bristles in accordance with the American DentalAssociation (ADA) recommended Bass or modified Bass technique, moreover,also according to this technique, a quantity of bristles may be disposedon or impact with the teeth (as for example approximately one-half insome implementations) and another quantity of bristles on or in contactwith the gums (in some cases as much as one-half the bristles). Thecrown bristles shown in FIGS. 5D, 5E (below) and 4A may also beangularly disposed, though perhaps not at the approximate 45 degrees asthose on the side (rather, more like a larger angle relative to thehorizontal or smaller relative to the vertical orientation shown in thedrawings).

It may also be desirable to provide an interaction of long bristles 34of brushes such as brushes 26, 27 particularly so as to substantiallycompletely impact the deeper areas of teeth and between teeth, whilehaving shorter bristles 35 impact the less deep, more prominent portionsof teeth. For example, the long crown bristles 34 of adjacent brushes26, 27 may cover the interior depressed portion of the chewing orocclusial surface of the tooth, see e.g., tooth 56 in FIG. 4A, and theshorter crown bristles 35 (see FIG. 5 below, particularly, FIGS. 5D andE) may impact the less deep extended tooth edges. Note the shorterbristles 35 may also be at a discrete angle, e.g. angle α in FIG. 5E,less pronounced than that of the longer crown bristles 34 (crownbristles 34 e.g., preferably, at something like about 5 to 20 degreesfrom the vertical, with the crown bristles 35 being less, from about 0to 10). Here an angle α of about 14 or 15 degrees is shown. The shortercrown bristles 35 may thus be intended to impact and clean the higher,non-depressed, outer surfaces of the tooth. Moreover, it may be that theangle of the bristles on the crown portion 36 b of the respective brushhead 30, 31 may be different, more or less than that of the side portion36 a bristles. Any combination of alternative angular dispositions maybe used with the brushes of the present invention.

Other views of bristle dispositions are also shown, particularly of theside bristles 34, 35 in the isometric views of FIGS. 5A, 5B and 5C, aswell as in the respective cross-sectional elevation and plan depictionsof FIGS. 4B and 4C (as taken along respective lines 4B-4B and 4C-4C ofFIG. 4A). Moreover, these uneven bristles, i.e. long bristles 34 andshort bristles 35, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, provide bristle tipcoverage of the uneven side surfaces of the tooth. For example, see therespective long and short bristles 34, 35 on the uneven side surfaces ofFIG. 4A and on the uneven side surfaces of FIG. 4C. As indicated above,and as shown in FIG. 4A, these bristles may even be angled on theotherwise relatively flat crown or chewing surface of the tooth to getfull coverage of the tooth surface.

In the use of angled uneven length bristles 34, 35, the bristles mayfirst be brought into contact with the tooth, then movement of the brushand thus also of the bristles, thereby brings the different lengthbristles into contact with the various uneven portions of the toothsurface, at various points the long bristles are brought into contactwith deeper surfaces or interproximal areas between teeth or between atooth and gum, and the short bristles also at times being brought intocontact with the less deep, more prominent surfaces, the bristle tips inboth cases being brought to full, non-interfered-with usage on therespective surfaces of the teeth, the bristle tips rather than therespective sides of the bristles. The angled disposition assists bysubstantially simultaneously directing the bristle tips toward thesurface-to-be-cleaned and resisting bending of the bristle which wouldlead to the bristle side coming into contact with the tooth surfacerather than the bristle tip.

More particularly in a structural implementation, and, as initiallyshown in FIGS. 1 and 4, but, also in more detail in FIG. 5 (cumulativelyincluding each of FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D and 5E), each device 20 mayinclude one or more brush or other cleaning head assemblies, here shownas brush assemblies 26, 27, which each may include one or more brushes,here see the brushes 26 a, 27 a of respective brush assemblies 26, 27 inFIG. 5, each such brush 26 a, 27 a having respective brush arms 28, 29and brush heads 30, 31. The brush heads, e.g., heads 30, 31, may then bedisposed such that adjacent brushes or sets of bristles may be usedsimultaneously during a brushing action. Combining multiple sets ofbrushing actions may provide better simulation or replacement ofinterproximal brushing, flossing, and/or perio picking and/or usingproxy brushes.

Also directed to a maximal bristle cleaning activity may be an option offlexible, resilient brush arms, e.g., arms 28, and/or 29, which cancontribute to the preferred maintenance of the tips of the long andshort bristles 34, 35 in contact with the respective deeper andshallower tooth portions by alternately flexing outwardly during anencounter with a wider tooth or shallower oral feature and then uponencountering a deeper or narrower feature, flexing or resiling inwardlyto reach inwardly toward the deeper surfaces and/or the narrower teeth.This may be a part of providing for disposing the brushes in apreselected typically optimal brushing position. And, even the trim ofthe bristles may contribute to this maintenance of a desired bristleangle. As such, the trim at the tips of the bristles may be angled to beparallel to the tooth surfaces (see each of the views of FIG. 5).Moreover, the short and long trim of the bristles, which as otherwisedescribed herein is primarily directed to reaching all the unevensurfaces of the teeth, including the interproximal areas, may alsocontribute to maximal cleaning because if all bristles were the samelength, then upon reaching a raised area, the bristles would bedeflected to present the sides of the bristles against the surfaces ofthe teeth and the sides of the bristles are not as capable of cleaningas the tips. Thus the bristle tips, as opposed to the bristle sides, arepreferred to remain on or in contact with the enamel, with the longbristles also being adapted to reach into the interproximal areaswithout interference or with minimal interference or obstruction of theshorter bristles by long bristle sides on enamel surface. Note, longtoothbrush heads, and/or overly voluminous bristle packing on a head canalso yield problems like this, where rather less bristles may be betterbecause the interference from adjacent bristles may be minimized. Ratheraccurate positioning (often very or ultra accurate positioning) ofbristles is favored in the present implementations as opposed to theprovision of an overabundance of bristles (such as is provided in someprior art brushes in an attempt or aspiration for hopefully some or anybristle(s) to hit the mark).

In some implementations, in order to effectively substantially eliminatehuman error, the present brushes may provide a relative“self-positioning” of the brush arms, brush heads and bristles relativeto the teeth and gums. Self-positioning may involve disposition relativeto an oral feature such as a tooth or teeth and gums, and/or may involvein and out positioning as well as swiveling heads. The in and outpositioning may primarily be a result of resilient brush arms whichallow for spreading of the heads away from each other when encounteringa wide tooth and resiling back inwardly toward their original positionwhen narrower surfaces are encountered. The width of the tooth can thenlimit the full amount of resiling, thus, the tooth determines theposition; i.e., self-positioning the brushes. The heads may also haveresilient characteristics, e.g. of the side relative to the crown andvice versa. The resilient arms and/or heads may thus provide for bitinginto the combination of brush heads, the resilience providing forapplying substantially continuous force for the brush heads tocontinually close in on or appropriately squeeze toward the teeth largeor small, spreading as necessary for the larger teeth. Note, theresiliency of the arms and/or heads may be selected so as to provide orapply a desirable, light yet operative pressure in the direction ofbristles (maintaining the desirable angle, e.g. 45 degrees for the sidebristles), not an overly aggressive or damaging force on the teethand/or gums. Spreading is shown in FIG. 6A where a pair of brush heads30, 31 are shown as they might move outwardly (arrow 30 a), downwardly(arrow 30 b) or a combination of both (arrow 30 c). Note also, thisself-positioning particularly with resilient arms and/or heads may allowfor smaller brushes to be used, where the user bites down and therebymoves the arms and gets a better fit around the tooth (a smaller brushperhaps also/alternatively being desirable due to the reduction ofbristle volume and thus reduced bristle interference to maximize bristletip effectiveness).

A swiveling positioning may include such resiliency, allowing relativelyindependent twisting or rotation of one or the other or both of the armsupon encountering an obstruction. This is shown in FIG. 6B (rotationalarrows 30 d and 30 e). Moreover, as described in further detail below, aswivel positioning may include the swivel of the whole head assemblyright and/or left, and if two heads are used then the swivel may be ofboth heads substantially simultaneously, see clockwise rotation/swivel30 f in FIG. 6C. Rotation is available for each of the head assemblies26, 27 about the respective shafts 22 a, 22 b (FIGS. 1-3) on and towhich the assemblies are mounted. Self positioning of these sorts maythus provide for easily and substantially automatically obtaining andmaintaining the Bass position for teeth and for simplifying use inmanipulation of the handle 21 for the human user and reducing oreliminating human error.

In use with two wrap-around brushes, such as, as shown, the one unitarycrown and side brush 30 (including brush portions 36 a, 36 b) in thefirst side brush assembly 26 for the first side of the teeth and the oneunitary crown and side brush 31 (including brush portions 36 a, 36 b) inthe second side brush assembly 27 for the second side of the teeth, theuser may simply bite into the brushing heads 26, 27, andself-positioning may be substantially automatic as the brushes positionthemselves or are otherwise positioned to substantially correctlycontact tooth and gum surfaces (see FIGS. 4 and 5), any deviationaccounted for by the resilient arms and/or the swiveling heads (seeFIGS. 5 and 6, e.g.). Thus, the brushes can achieve the ADA recommendedBass technique placement of bristles on teeth and gums, with the sidecontacts being at approximately a 45 degree angle (see FIG. 4A) orotherwise as may be desired. Each brush unit 26, 27, e.g., may have userspecific dimensions, or may, due to the self-positioning described here,be fit for use in any user's mouth for bristle contact of everyto-be-cleaned surface of the user's teeth and gums and may provideinterproximal, gingival and/or sub-gingival contact while assuring thatthe brushing action does not include an overly aggressive bristle force.Such self-positioning may be achieved substantially automatically withor without the user's knowledge, understanding or active participation,as it is the width of the tooth or teeth which, in limiting the amountof resiling of the brush arms and/or heads, is actually achieving theself-positioning.

Another part of the ADA Bass techniques recommendation is to reciprocatethe brushes in short (e.g. tooth-wide or less than about 0.25 inches, orin some cases between about 0.18 and about 0.25 inches), quick, back andforth strokes while applying light pressure in the direction ofbristles. Note, such short strokes avoid the sweeping scraping which canlead to trenching (up and down strokes were once taught in an effort toavoid trenching); but, further such linear in and out strokes providebetter cleaning. The bristles can bend and/or flex and move little, yetstill bring sufficient action to bear upon and clean or dislodge debris.Accordingly, the device 20 hereof can, and in many preferredimplementations will be adapted to provide a defined stroke that impartsan alternating brushing, as shown in FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C, for example,with a first stroke 53 in a first direction with a return in theopposite direction, and preferably here, one brush assembly, e.g.,assembly 26 moving in the first direction 53 while a second brush head,e.g., assembly 27 is moving with a second stroke 54 in the otherdirection. The alternating stroke (out-to-in of one assemblysimultaneously with in-to-out of the other assembly) is desirable for avariety of reasons, these reasons and exemplar sub-assemblies adapted toprovide such strokes are described further below. It has been found thatapproximately 650-850 strokes per minute may provide the most effectiveresults. Such speeds can be highly desirable, particularly as thestrokes provide enough time for the bristles and particularly thebristle tips to react resiliently to move from one location to anotherand then have their bristle tips strike at debris trapped in a space,e.g., interproximal space 55 between the teeth, see e.g., teeth 56, 57(FIGS. 4B and 4C) which debris might then be trapped at or near the midpoint and thereby loosen the debris more efficiently with a back andforth action so that the debris may be cleared therefrom. Shorterstrokes (less than or equal to about 0.25 inches) and slower speeds suchas these (650-850 strokes per minute as compared with or opposed to 3 to30 thousand (3-30 k) strokes per minute of some conventional powerbrushes, e.g., so-called sonic brushes) are also more gentle, providingmassage-like contact as opposed to dental drill-like, high-impactspeeds.

Note also, in some implementations, it may further be desirable tooptionally though not necessarily include use of a dentifrice, toothpaste, flavor concentrate etc. To do this, the dentifrice may bedelivered with, i.e., added to the brush or brush bristles insubstantially conventional fashion and thus move with the brushes intothe user's mouth and thereby be applied to the teeth and/or gums.

The respective brush assemblies 26, 27 introduced and shown above, maybe unitary appliances (e.g., the one brush head 30 or 31 including theside and crown brush portions 36 a, 36 b), or may be respectiveassemblies of one or more brushes. Each of these brushes 26, 27 may inturn, also as shown and described above, each include arms 28, 29 andheads 30, 31. Note, as identified in FIG. 5A, it may be desirable toinclude a relief, reduction and/or other curvature feature in the arm(s)28, 29 to avoid undesirable impact of an arm 28, 29 on/with the teeth inuse. The heads 30, 31 may also have respective head portions 36 a, 36 b(side, crown) (see FIG. 5) with respective drill holes to receiverespective tufts 32 a, 32 b (side, crown) of bristles 34, 35 (tufts 32a, 32 b shown and identified in FIGS. 5B and 5C).

The respective brush assemblies 26, 27 may also include respective brushbases 40, 41 (see the respective assembled bases 40, 41 in FIG. 5A) forconnection of the brush assemblies to the control handle 21 and/orshafts 22. The bases 40, 41 may be initially separate devices or may beseparate portions formed as separate parts, or formed as integral partsof the respective brushes 26 a and 26 b. A variety of connectionfeatures may be included to provide for the connection of the brushportions together. These portions may then be connected by snap fit,snug fit, friction fit or welded, e.g. sonically-welded, or glued orotherwise adhesively or cohesively or otherwise put and held together.

A push-button device may be included within the bases 40, 41 and may beengagable with the quill end of a shaft 22, e.g. shafts 22 a, 22 b (seeFIGS. 7A and 7B). The quill end 122 may have a slot or notch 123 withinner and outer diameters which together define the slot. Engagement maythen be had when the edge of the push-button feature clips into the slot123.

The tooth brush assemblies 26, 27 may thus be removably mountable on theshafts 22 and thereby replaceable if and/or as they may be spent, or theassemblies 26, 27 may be interchangeable so that each of a plurality ofusers may each also have his/her own brush heads for sanitary reasons.Alternative cleaning head assemblies (not shown) may be interchangeablyused herewith as well. Or, different sizes may be made available (forplural or singular users), e.g., smaller brushes can provide a betterfit around particular teeth, or for particular users, smaller brushesperhaps being more comfortable as well, and/or providing fewer bristlesand thus reduce bristle interference.

Moving shafts for moving the cleaning heads 26, 27 will now bedescribed. For example, in FIGS. 2 and 7 (including FIGS. 7A, 7B and7C), are depictions of isometric cut-away views of alternative handles21 of exemplary units 20 which each provide for moving one or morecleaning assemblies 26, 27 on respective shafts 22 a, 22 b of aconnection assembly 25. More particularly, the structural shafts 22 a,22 b may be disposed in reciprocal motive disposition in and emanatingfrom the control handle 21. Note, the shafts 22 a, 22 b may berelatively integral or contiguous with or otherwise as shown anddescribed above, may be connectable with brush assemblies 26, 27.

Inside the control handle 21 may be one or more control assemblies 24which may include conventional or unconventional reciprocation hardware.As a first example, a direct current (DC) motor 44 may be included toprovide primary power to reciprocate the brush head assemblies 26, 27.The motor 44 may activate a mechanical system 45 such as a system ofgears, to ultimately move the cleaning head assemblies 26, 27. Thesystem 45 may be a double reciprocal/opposing movement like thatdescribed and shown in FIGS. 2 and 7 which may include mechanisms like acrown gear 208 connected by a shaft to a reduction spur gear 209 whichcommunicates in gear meshing relationship with a double cam gear 203(see FIGS. 7A, 7B and 7C). The DC motor 44 is adapted to directly turn apinion gear 210 which in turn, turns the crown gear 208 and thence gear209 is turned and turns the double cam gear 203. The gear 203 hasrespective cams 204, 205 one each on opposite sides of the gear 203 (seeFIG. 7). The first side cam 204, the double cam gear 203, and secondside cam 205 may be separate parts or may all be combined as one piece.Structural shafts/arms 22 a and 22 b may be attached to cam followers206, 207. The double-cam big gear 203 which may thus by contact move thetwo cam followers 206, 207 to move in and out the shafts 22 a, 22 brelative to the power handle 21 (note, exemplar alternative gearing,cams and cam followers, as well as other potentially useful mechanismsare also shown and described in the parent, prior U.S. application Ser.No. 11/223,365, filed Sep. 9, 2005, the teachings and suggestionsthereof being incorporated by this reference herein, as if fully setforth here). Thus, this causes the structural shafts 22 a, 22 b toreciprocate in opposing directions and thereby provide for alternatingdispositions of the heads 26, 27, the positions and directions beingsubstantially and reversibly in opposition such that at one moment, theheads are as shown, and then they may be reciprocated such that theyswitch relative positions inside the mouth. FIGS. 7A and 7B show oneposition where the shaft 22 a is further retracted within the handle 21while the other shaft 22 b is extended. A switched position is shown inFIGS. 1 and 2 where the first side shaft 22 a is extended and the othershaft 22 b is retracted. The shafts 22 thereby further provide thisreciprocatable linear movement to the brush head assemblies 26, 27 toalternately move into and out of the oral cavity in order to desirablyclean the teeth and/or gums.

Note, the side-by-side heads 30, 31 of the brush assemblies 26, 27 maybe reciprocated together in opposed relationship to each other. In manycases with devices 20 it will be preferable to provide such alternatereciprocal moving part implementations having respective opposing partsmoving contrary to each other to provide balance to the overall device.In many implementations, the force balance of alternating reciprocationcan provide for a static handle at the same time as the brushes aredynamically cleaning. In any two opposed brush orientations, theopposing brushes may be moving substantially simultaneously in oppositedirections, one out while the other is moving in and vice versa.Reciprocation side-by-side and in opposite directions providessubstantially simultaneous action and reaction in and out, and thisforce action and reaction cancels each other out so that net motiveforce on the handle 21 is substantially zero and the handle 21 therebyremains stationary. The mechanical force counterforce, i.e., theforce(s) tending to push the side-by-side brush heads further in, or outof the mouth simultaneously provide at least a reduction of the overallforces felt by the user who may then be able to operate the devicesimply by and through the use of a simple/minimal grasp of the handle 21with the thumb and forefinger. This overall action/reaction may alsoprovide a further advantage in the self-positioning described above,overcoming the reciprocal brushing action to allow the brush head andbristle design to achieve and maintain the desirable self-position(FIGS. 3, 4 and 5) unforced away therefrom by the motor drivenreciprocation. Also in these and/or other two (or more) brushimplementations, though at least two such brushes may move in opposingreciprocation together, it may be possible to have contrary alternatingmovements whether for relative top and bottom movements as well as or inalternative to the herein shown contrary side versus side movements.

As mentioned above, the device 20 can provide alternating brushing,with, as shown in FIG. 3, a first stroke 53 in a first direction with asecond stroke 54 in the other direction. And, approximately 650-850strokes per minute may provide the most effective results. Suchalternating stroke speeds can be highly desirable as the strokes mayhave enough time for the bristles to react resiliently to move from onelocation to another and then strike at debris trapped in a space, e.g.,interproximal space 55 between the teeth, see e.g., teeth 56, 57 (FIGS.4B and 4C) which debris might then be trapped at or near the mid pointand thereby loosen the debris more efficiently with a back and forthaction so that the debris may be cleared therefrom. Slower speeds suchas these (650-850 strokes per minute as opposed to 3 to 30 thousand(3-30 k) strokes per minute of some conventional power brushes, e.g.,so-called sonic brushes) are also more gentle, providing massage-likecontact as opposed to dental drill-like, high-impact speeds. Note, manyother conventional power brushes boast high speeds, often spinningactions of 4,000 rpm and more, speeds that can create a feeling ofdiscomfort. The slower speeds preferred here, on the other hand, rely onaccurate bristle positioning to obtain effectiveness, and as a result,the brushes can reciprocate at a fraction of the speed of otherproducts, resulting in user enjoyment of a comfortable massage withevery use. Note, multiple or multi-speed options may alternatively bemade available in these or other ranges of strokes per minute. In manycases, one speed is acceptable, but optionally one or more slower speedscan be offered particularly for beginners to become accustomed to theaction. Faster speeds may also be offered.

An assembly such as this may be adequate for twin cooperative goals ofefficaciously brushing the occlusial and lingual-bucal surfaces of theteeth and gums (including gaps between such surfaces and/or between theteeth and gums) while also simultaneously brushing the aforementionedsurfaces and also the underlying gums. An aspect hereof may thus be theprovision of an improved powered toothbrush for simultaneouslyefficaciously brushing the occlusial and the lingual bucal surfacesincluding any gaps therebetween while simultaneously beneficiallybrushing the teeth surfaces and also the underlying teeth/gums, thelatter benefit representing therapeutical prevention of periodontalproblems.

Note, shown in FIG. 8 is a schematic representation of a system 20including a brush control module 21 with a power unit 46 and a powercable or cord 47 connected therebetween for plugging into a wall socket,for an example. The control handle 21 may either be hardwire connectedor may more preferably be rechargeable (e.g., rechargeable batteries orinduction charging mechanism(s), not directly shown) and thus operatedwithout a power cable 47 and external power source 46. A remote chargeror induction charging unit would then be used, and in such a case therepresentation in FIG. 8 could be indicative of the disconnectableconnection for recharging. In some implementations on this scale, arecharger may provide a multiplicity of operations, as for example up to50 times, or up to a month, e.g. Other repowering connections may alsobe had, as for example, including non-rechargeable, but replaceablebatteries or where the recharger is built into the handle 21 or involvesa table top recharging stand for placement of the handle 21 therein,such being adapted to rest on counter-top or other surfaces.

Alternative implementations may include alternative sub-assembliesincluding triple toothbrushes, or otherwise. Exemplary tripartite orother brush assemblies for use in alternative implementations like thoseshown here may also alternatively be like those disclosed in co-pendingU.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/357,564 filed Feb. 5, 2003, and inPCT application No. PCT/US2003/01601, Publication No. WO03101365 (A1),both by at least one of the same inventor(s) as the present case. Thedisclosures of those applications are hereby incorporated herein byreference as if fully set forth here. Brushes like these tripartitebrush assemblies can be used for brushing insides, outsides and topsidesor crowns of the teeth substantially simultaneously, and may also beused to position the brushes in operative position and guide the brushesthroughout the oral cavity for efficient usage.

And, yet again as above, the brushes may be reciprocated in shortstrokes in accordance with ADA recommended Bass technique, brushing witha short/quick back and forth action(s). As such, the control handle 21may in many implementations be provided with powering means forproviding reciprocating longitudinal movement in alternatingsynchronization of the brushing head assemblies. The side-by-side brushheads may preferably be made to move in opposite directions. This isdesirable in many implementations because the opposing reciprocatablemovement can provide a “balance”; e.g., balance of forces, so that thepower handle does not tend to move in and out, or otherwise, as a resultof the forced movement and/or contact with both the first and secondside brush heads simultaneously. The user then may easily hold thedevice 20 without manual exertion, dexterity or otherwise other than toposition the device relative to the mouth.

In general, brush head assemblies could include one or more brush heads.In one further alternative, or in addition thereto, one or more or anarrangement of brush heads could be disposed for brushing the sides ofthe teeth and/or the crowns of the teeth. Examples of such arrangementsinclude either a combination of oppositely movable lateral brushes thatcan be used on the top teeth (or bottom) while an independent brush maybe used on the bottom (or top) teeth. Or one of these brushes or othercombinations of brushes could be used independently of the other set ofbrushes to provide controlled brushing action for top and bottom teethbut on only one side (top, bottom, inside or outside) or on thecrowns/chewing surfaces, as desired at a time. Alternation may then beavailable from a first side to the other side, or top to bottom, etc.,or both as desired. As introduced above, positioning the brushesproperly may be provided by a guide means which might be provided by theone or more brushes themselves wherein these lock around the teeththrough the resiliency of the brush heads and/or arms to correctlyposition the bristles at the appropriate angles and locations adjacentthe teeth and/or gums. Such action may here as well be provided by orreceive assistance from a set of resilient arms spreading or squeezing aset of one or more brush heads. Also as before, the opposing brushes canbe moved in an alternating brushing action to provide a desirable forcebalance.

From the foregoing, it is readily apparent that new and usefulimplementations of the present invention have been herein described andillustrated which fulfill numerous desiderata in remarkably unexpectedfashions. An assembly such as any of these described herein may beadequate for twin cooperative goals of efficaciously brushing theocclusial and lingual-bucal surfaces, including gaps therebetween, whilealso simultaneously brushing the aforementioned surfaces and also theunderlying teeth and gums thereby providing therapeutical preventionand/or treatment of periodontal problems. It is, of course, understoodthat such modifications, alterations and adaptations as may readilyoccur to the artisan confronted with this disclosure are intended withinthe spirit of this disclosure which is limited only by the scope of theclaims appended hereto.

1. An oral cleansing device comprising: a handle including: a housingstructure; at least one control assembly disposed within the housingstructure; and, a connection shaft assembly including at least a firstside shaft and a second side shaft stemming from the housing structure;and, a first side brush assembly adapted to be connected to the firstside shaft and a second side brush assembly adapted to be connected tothe second side shaft whereby the control assembly is adapted to provideopposing bi-directional linear motion to the first and second side brushassemblies.
 2. An oral cleansing device according to claim 1 wherein thefirst and second side brush assemblies include respective first andsecond brushes, the first and second brushes including respective firstand second resilient arms adapted to be connected to the connectionconfiguration, the first and second resilient arms each respectivelyhaving first and second brush heads connected thereto; whereby the firstand second brushes are operatively disposed such that the first andsecond brush heads are disposed in generally opposing side-by-siderelationship to each other; and, whereby the first and second brushheads each have one or the other or both of respective crown portionsand respective side portions.
 3. An oral cleansing device according toclaim 1 wherein the first and second side brush assemblies includerespective first side and second side brush assemblies and the shaftsreciprocate in and out and thereby provide for alternating reciprocationof the first side and second side brush assemblies.
 4. An oral cleansingdevice according to claim 1 wherein the first and second side brushassemblies include respective first side and second side brushassemblies and the shafts reciprocate in opposing directions and therebyprovide for alternating reciprocation of the first side and second sidebrush assemblies.
 5. An oral cleansing device according to claim 1wherein the first and second side brush assemblies include respectivefirst side and second side brush assemblies and the shafts reciprocatein opposing directions and thereby provide for alternating reciprocationof the first side and second side brush assemblies, whereby thealternating reciprocation provides balance to the overall device.
 6. Anoral cleansing device according to claim 1 wherein the first and secondside brush assemblies include respective first side and second sidebrush assemblies and the first side and second side brush assemblieseach include two heads and the shafts reciprocate and thereby providefor alternating reciprocations of the first side and second side brushassemblies.
 7. An oral cleansing device according to claim 1 wherein thefirst and second brushes are adapted to move linearly in short strokes.8. An oral cleansing device according to claim 1 wherein the first andsecond brushes are adapted to move linearly in short strokes of lessthan or equal to about 0.25 inches.
 9. An oral cleansing deviceaccording to claim 1 wherein the first and second brushes are adapted tomove linearly in slow strokes.
 10. An oral cleansing device according toclaim 1 wherein the first and second brushes are adapted to movelinearly in slow strokes of between about 650 and about 850 strokes perminute.
 11. An oral cleansing device according to claim 1 wherein thefirst and second brushes are adapted to move linearly in simulation ofone or both of the Bass or ADA method.
 12. An oral cleansing deviceaccording to claim 1 further including a motor, the motor adapted toprovide primary power to reciprocate the at least one brush headassembly.
 13. An oral cleansing device according to claim 1 whereby theat least one control assembly includes a mechanical system to move thefirst and second brush assemblies; the mechanical system including: acrown gear connected by a gear shaft to a reduction spur gear; a doublecam gear which communicates in gear meshing relationship with thereduction spur gear; the reduction spur gear being adapted to drive thedouble cam gear; the double cam gear having respective first side andsecond side cams, one each on opposite sides of the double cam gear;first side and second side cam followers each disposed in respectiveoperative contact with the respective first side and second side cams ofthe double cam gear, the double-cam gear by contact through therespective first side and second side cams, being adapted to move thetwo cam followers in a linear fashion; the first side and second sideshafts of the connection shaft assembly each being respectively attachedto the respective first side and second side cam followers, the firstside and second side shafts thus being adapted to move with therespective first side and second side cam followers and thereby alsomove the first and second brush assemblies therewith in a linearfashion.
 14. An oral cleansing device according to claim 13 furtherincluding a motor, the motor adapted to provide primary power toreciprocate the at least one brush head assembly; the motor having apinion gear in communication with the crown gear; whereby the motor isadapted to directly turn the pinion gear which in turn, turns the crowngear which turns the reduction spur gear to turn the double cam gear.15. An oral cleansing system comprising: an oral brush device having: ahandle including: a housing structure; a pair of linearly movableconnection structures stemming from the housing structure; and, at leastone control assembly disposed within the housing structure; the at leastone control assembly including a power-driven sub-assembly, thepower-driven sub-assembly providing movement for the movable connectionstructure; a power assembly; the power assembly being adapted to beconnected to the power-driven sub-assembly of the at least one controlassembly; and, first and second side brush assemblies adapted to bedetachably attachable to the pair of linearly movable connectionstructures of the handle; whereby each of the first and second sidebrush assemblies includes at least one brush having at least oneresilient, deformably elastic arm adapted to be connected to each of theconnection structures, each of the at least one resilient, deformablyelastic arms having a respective first and second brush head connectedthereto, the respective first and second brush heads each having one orboth of a set of side bristles and a set of crown bristles; whereby thefirst and second brush heads are disposed in opposing relation such thatthe sets of side bristles are opposing each other; and, whereby thefirst set of side bristles and the second set of side bristles areoperatively disposed such that the first and second brush heads areadapted to be self-positioning in relation to an oral feature.